2016
SOTAZIPBACKTOZAMBALES!
Aeta, Maporac
Having gone on OSL and GPS, a few of us felt that the information gathered about the Maporac Aeta from the past two trips were not utilized fully to accomplish our goal of spreading awareness of their culture. We wanted do more, and in the summer post-graduation, planned and went on a trip back to Cabangan, Zambales with the intent to produce an interactive documentary about the Maporac Aeta. We had two goals:
1. To raise awareness of the Aeta community in both the Filipino community and the international community
2. To help archive and preserve the unique heritage culture of the Aeta for current and future generations of the Aeta community.
With plans to set up a website, we also wanted to fundraise for classroom/educational resources for the Aeta communities. (The website is the one you are on right now, The Twinkle Project). We primarily filmed interviews with the Aeta people and video content surrounding education and the preservation of their Aeta identity. We also went to the Aeta community in Diaz to distribute stationery to the youths there. You read about interviews, their views on education, and other information we gathered here.
NYGHCAPSTONE
Agta
Capstone 2016 to Sentrong Paalaran ng mga Agta (SPA) in Quezon, Philippines was a follow up from what the batch of 2015 achieved. The main projects were
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Building of a chicken coop, which would allow the village to rear chickens sustainably, and provide improved nutrition for the villagers, who rarely got to eat meat. The tasks involved included clearing the land, thatching the roof, building ramps, feedlots and fences, and digging a pond.
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Painting murals in the school, depicting Agta culture. Some were done collaboratively with the students of SPA to let them play a part in creating a positive learning environment — we showed them how to paint flowers with their hands, and some joined us in painting their houses on the walls. The goal was to create a concrete reminder to the children on the importance of culture.
The other projects included:
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Repairing the roof of a community hall built by 2015 batch after it was damaged in a typhoon
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Documenting, illustrating and printing a children’s book containing traditional songs and tales. The 20 books were donated to the SPA library
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Donation and planting of bamboo shoots so they can be sustainably harvested in future as building material.
We stayed with a few families through our time in SPA and forged close bonds with many of the Agta villagers and children through daily activities, as well as bonding over games, cultural performances, and a sports meet event which involved traditional activities like archery, wrestling and spear throwing. We also took a trip to Matalunglan, where the villagers showed us how to fish, collect useful plants, catch shrimp and cook in the wild.